Pro Bowl moves back to Hawaii; includes new fan registry

The NFL regular season will kick off next month, but fans in Hawaii and on the mainland are already thinking Pro Bowl. The NFL recently released ticket information for the 2011 Pro Bowl and established the first-ever Pro Bowl Fan Registry.

The Pro Bowl, which returns to Hawaii after a successful event in South Florida, will be played at Honolulu's Aloha Stadium a week before Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, January 30.

Those fans who are "Pro Bowl season ticket holders" will receive from the NFL renewal notices in mid-September.

Fans who have not purchased Pro Bowl tickets in the past may register on http://app.edialog.nfl.com/probowl/ and will have first access to purchase tickets to the 2011 game. Registered fans will have the opportunity to purchase tickets beginning late November before the general public sale.

Fans also may purchase Pro Bowl packages including game and event tickets right now through NFL On Location, the NFL's official source for event experiences and hospitality. Fans may visit www.nflonlocation.com to book their packages.

Any remaining tickets will go on sale in early December and will be available through ticketmaster.com.

"The many fans who contacted our office looking to purchase tickets provided the impetus for the first Pro Bowl Fan Registry," said FRANK SUPOVITZ, the NFL's senior vice president of events. "The state of Hawaii has embraced the Pro Bowl and NFL players for more than 30 years and we are already witnessing the passion of fans there and the mainland for the return of the game and surrounding events. The Pro Bowl continues to grow."

The Pro Bowl's return to Hawaii, where it had been held consecutively from 1980 to 2009, is part of a two-year agreement between the NFL and the state of Hawaii to play the 2011 and 2012 games there.

The decision to play the NFL's All-Star Game the week before the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year follows a significant increase in viewership for the 2010 Pro Bowl, the first Pro Bowl to precede the Super Bowl.

The 2010 Pro Bowl on ESPN was the most-watched All-Star event in any sport this year, topping MLB, NBA, and NHL viewership. The Pro Bowl was watched by an average of 12.3 million viewers, the most for a Pro Bowl since 2000 (13.2 million viewers) and a 40 percent increase from the 2009 game (8.8 million viewers). The game at Sun Life Stadium in South Florida also attracted the largest Pro Bowl attendance (70,697) in 50 years.

The 2011 Pro Bowl game will be televised live by FOX. FOX also will televise Super Bowl XLV a week later on Sunday, February 6 from Cowboys Stadium in North Texas.